It takes a while before you realize that the coupledom is supposed to be between Jonathan and Sam, especially if you didn’t read the synopsis beforehand (I rarely do (chuckle)). There wasn’t any chemistry between them for me to even root for them. Nevermind, I never really connected to Jonathan as I just found him to be a disagreeable person.

Now Sam, I love him. Alexis Hall wrote a great character who showcases the dilemma that many face today in the employment and economic world. Hall does an excellent job of shining a light on the decisions that people make to go to work and it is about more than just passing time. There are outside factors that impact every decision and how this can affect a manager’s decision if they are more a people’s person manager than a just a rule follower. Add in the holidays as Hall has and of course it gets it more complicated.

10 Things That Never Happened is actually better for the secondary cast. I love them. I think they add the flavor and heart of the book. They made the holiday shine for me and made Sam a better person.

I have been in a reading slump for a bit, and though it took me some time to get into this book I really loved it in the end.
I enjoyed the England setting as I can't think of many books I have read lately set there and I like a good change.of pace.
I liked the couple in this book, I would say grumpy sunshine but it's more like grumpy and less grumpy. They didn't feel right in the very beginning but the more the book went on the more I loved them.
I also loved the growth of our main characters the softining of John and the coming to terms with his sadness for Sam. Though I wasn't totally expecting his whole family being dead as a part of his sad ness that was sad though made sense for the story.
I can't wait to read more books from this author.

I ended up listening to the audiobook of Ten Things That Never Happened and it was very enjoyable. Alexis Hall writes laugh out loud funny characters and scenes. Sam Becker’s job as manager at a bed and bath retailer and his employees and the things they get up to is hysterical. I thought it was a cute story of how he gets together with his boss. In the end it was enjoyable and am interested to read more from the author.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of 10 Things That Never Happened.

I haven't read Alexis' other books, but they were on my TBR, so I went into this not knowing much about the world or characters. I didn't have any issues following the story, though I probably missed some hidden references along the way, and enjoyed the experience. I needed a break from the heavier fantasy books and this was an easy read for holiday and found family vibes, though the amnesia plot is not my favorite trope. I enjoyed the banter and writing style, and the characters were fun to read.

Quickly got sucked right into this book and couldn’t put it down/stop listening. Loved the main characters’ snarky banter, the overall sass, and sense of humor in this fun, amnesia/enemies to lovers story. The book is also filled with a collection of ridiculous and memorable side characters that were fun and added to the chaos in the best way possible. Great book to read, especially heading into the Christmas season if you’re looking for some snarky festive fun, including a grump you can’t help but fall for (even when he’s being a jerk), a cat I now want to meet, a family just as crazy as your own, coworkers that remind you why you can both love and dread going to work, and a guy who you want to root for so bad because we’ve probably all been just as much of a mess at some point. And if you’re into audiobooks, I really enjoyed the narrator - he made it a very immersive listening experience.

Thanks to Net Galley for the book!

Fun as always! Alexis always writes his characters with great voices and interactions. If you like a trope-y holiday romance full of wacky hijinks and bad decision-making (and I do), look no further.

3.5 rounded up. I liked this book overall, and it was a fun read. My biggest issue is that, at the end, it feels kind of gross to have Jonathan come out to the cemetery to meet Sam. I understand why it was done, but I was hoping to see Sam... actually apologize for what he'd done. Again, I get it, but it wasn't as satisfying as I expected.

Sam is a manager at a store… for now. He’s been called to London for a confrontation with his boss, Johnathan. In the midst of an awkward conversation where Sam suspects he is losing his job, he falls into a shower and has a head injury. At the hospital where he is being checked out, he accidentally implies that he is having memory problems. The doctor orders that he stay with Johnathan for supervision and before Sam can clarify the situation, he realizes this is a second chance to save his job and the jobs of his coworkers.

What I loved:
-strong sense of found family
-grumpy/sunshine, enemies to lovers, forced proximity
-the storyline with the cat
-believable falling in love/relationship development despite slightly absurd plot

This was such a cute and enjoyable read that I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reading copy.

3.5 stars

Sam Beckett is a manager at a bed and bath superstore in the north of England, with a rag tag team of employees he can barely control. When persnickety chain owner Jonathan Forest threatens firings to cut costs, he insists that Sam come down to the main showroom in London to see how things should be done. While there, they get into an altercation that ends up with Sam falling into a shower installation and getting knocked out by its heavy glass door. While at the hospital, he says things are fuzzy, and Jonathan assumes this means he has amnesia, and Sam, thinking this is a way to save his job, lets him believe that. Eager to move on to the next patient, the doctors insist that Sam be under someone's care for the next few weeks as he recovers from his concussion, and with no one else to turn to, Jonathan has no choice but to let him stay with him.

I wanted to like this story, but some of the stylistic choices broke up the flow of the story a bit for me. Sam's dialogue is written in Liverpool slang, and his over the top attempt at banter and need to refer to Jonathan by his full first and last name took me out of the story a bit. It was hard to read about Jonathan being so nasty to his loving family, even if he did soften and turn around by the end. There were a lot of different side plots going on that made the story feel a little longer than it needed to be, with the many characters in Jonathan's extended family, the workplace drama, and the living situation drama. I enjoyed The forced proximity and found family elements despite not particularly liking either of the MMCs.

Alexis Hall does banter like no other. Definitely what redeemed this book for me. I couldn't quite get hooked on the amnesia plot line but the witty banter kept me going. Not my favourite of their books but I still think it's worth a read!

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca & Netgalley for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Alexis Hall does witty banter better than most authors whose work I’ve read. There were several laugh out loud moments throughout this book.

I’m never a huge fan of tropes that include lying, which was the basis of the fake amnesia plot, but I do think Hall wrote it in a way that didn’t make either character unlikeable…unless they were supposed to be unlikeable.

This was a slow burn, and a did hit a point where I was ready for some action between our two main characters a bit sooner than it happened, but it was worth the wait.

I enjoyed the elements of family, Christmas and healing. I will definitely be checking out other books by Alexis Hall in the future.

I randomly decided to go look at my Netgalley list and knock a few out. I've been terrible about reading this year. Seeing this Alexis Hall book made me so happy. Sometimes me and their novels don't jell but I always have a good time with their romances. A romcom was just what I needed this week. The weather getting cold and just in time for the holiday season. I flew through it. The book was so much fun to read. I loved it. I could see where this might not work for other people but I loved the mcs. They felt relatable and really resonated with me. I loved the themes of family, and purpose and trauma. I never felt a lag in the reading experience. This may be my favorite Alexis Hall to date. Also the audio book is top notch.

Review given in exchange for a copy of the book.

10 Things was a fake amnesia, work romance featuring a MM lead, their boss/employee dynamic, and a whole lot of deceit. This book was an enjoyable read, but not my favorite, which surprised me because I normally really love Alexis Hall. The chemistry between the two MCs was...strained at best. The fake amnesia was put forth as 'unbelievable' but was honestly the easiest thing to accept. The deceit and the misrepresentation by Sam was by far more difficult, and his character arc failed to make a lot of sense. He is portrayed as a kind, empathetic person in the beginning who would do literally anything to help his team, and then somehow morphed into a character that is bitter, depressed, and detached. The exact opposite of how he was portrayed throughout the entire book. I feel like we should have had Sam's background in the beginning, his character could have been fleshed out a bit more and made more dynamic instead of a major personality vibe that switches in the last 10%. I found Jonathon to be much more believable as a character, more complex and well rounded, more believable. He began as a very flat MC but evolved into a nuanced individual that was relatable and easy to empathize with. Sam, for me, unfortunately, failed to meet that mark. Their relationship was strained and odd at best, forced and a bit abusive at worst. I would recommend the book to others, but maybe with a few key warnings and some notes on where to suspend your rationality and just 'go with it' for the sake of the larger story, which was enjoyable if not my favorite.

Well, not my favorite Alexis Hall book, but it was decent! This book was a harder sell for me — the amnesia plot was hard to believe, which I know was basically the point, but it still irked me. I also just didn’t feel the chemistry much between the guys. There was some great banger and characters (and Gollum!!), so I found it entertaining enough.

3⭐️

I normally really love the characters in Alexis Hall novels, and I really loved the ways we got to unfold both Jonathan and Sam’s characters. The plot seemed a bit tenuous for me, since it seemed very unrealistic even with the amnesia that Jonathan would be obligated to have Sam stay at his house, especially when they went all the way back to Sam’s house to get his cat, because that would have been the perfect opportunity to see if there was anyone there that Sam could stay with. I also didn’t like that we only learned about Sam’s family situation in the last chapter, even though I really liked the reveal and its surrounding scene, because that was all I was thinking about the entire book. Other than those two things, I really enjoyed reading it and loved Hall’s customary brand of humour!

If you love Alexis Hall's brilliant British humor and her fabulous banter, this book is for you. The premise is fairly ridiculous but the cast of characters is so lovable I was willing to go with it. I'm glad it's the first in a series and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Thanks to Sourcebooks for the copy to review.

3,5 stars
Good fun read! Not my absolute favourite book ever but I really liked the story and had a great time. Not the fastest read but the story was interesting enough to keep going.

A charming romance written with Alexis Hall’s usual British voice.

The book follows employee and employer and their enemies to lovers arc involving a lot of lies and misdirection.

I quite enjoy the humour and the lively characters that add a lot of fun to the story. The romance in itself is cliche with it’s misunderstood grumpy love interest, the reveal and breakup just before they reconcile for no much solid reason except letting bygones be bygones.

There is no smut in this book much to my surprise and still managed to be an enjoyable adult romance. I feel the author’s writing has considerably improved with this book.

For a book about faking amnesia, this book was certainly memorable! A medley of some of my favorite tropes (enemies to lovers, sleeping with the boss, found family, billionaire romance—though not quite a billionaire in this case) made for a fantastic story.

It took me a minute to find the narrator’s (Sam) voice, but the note included in the beginning of the story with examples from queer culture icons certainly helped with my American learning curve. I found Sam’s persistence and lack of filter charming, but I wouldn’t feel the same if he were my employee, which lent itself very well to his dynamic with Jonathon. Getting to see the growth in both of them as the story progressed and they learned more about each other was a real treat. They were also surrounded by an ensemble of memorable, distinct characters (including Gollum the cat) that made the dialogue a ton of fun to read and helped to alleviate some of the heavier, more emotional scenes between just same and Jonathon.

Reading this in November and having the story ended at Christmas (twice) made this the perfect read! I’d absolutely recommend anyone who enjoys snarky banter and the build that comes with an enemies-to-lovers relationship between two stubborn men.

The premise of this book is totally absurd and I don’t care in the slightest because Alexis Hall wrote it and he does such a perfect job that the whole thing works regardless. I like everything he writes but this one might be my favorite. The plot, while silly, was interesting and engaging. The characters were so well developed and relatable and I also appreciated how grown up they were, how even though they were flawed and made some dumb decisions they weren’t completely aggravating. The chemistry and tension were perfectly executed as always. The family stuff was so messily spot on and the characters’ growth arcs so well done. I just really enjoyed everything about this book.